Mainichi Daily News articles from May 2006

Mainichi Daily News archives from May 2006

Actor Masumi Okada dies of throat cancer.
May 31, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) Actor Masumi Okada, who was known for his affectionate personality, has died of throat cancer, his family said. He was 70. A farewell gathering for Okada will be held at Aoyama funeral hall in the Minami...

High-ranking police officer faces charges for shoplifting.
May 31, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) A high-ranking police officer faces charges for shoplifting over the weekend, Tokyo police officials said. The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) is poised to send an investigation report to prosecutors,...

Prince Naruhito to perform official duties while Emperor visits Southeast Asia.
May 31, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) Crown Prince Naruhito will perform official duties on behalf of Emperor Akihito while his father is on a visit to Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand in mid-June, government officials said Tuesday. The...

Social Insurance Agency officials in hot water for waiving pension premiums.
May 31, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) Social Insurance Agency officials have inappropriately waived national pension premiums for some 114,000 people in 26 prefectures across Japan, officials said. The number of waived cases announced on Monday...

Jusco supermarkets offer cheap vegetables to calm fears over wacky weather.
May 31, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) Aeon Co. on Tuesday launched a vegetable sale at about 260 of its Jusco supermarkets across the country to calm consumer concerns that the price of vegetables will rise due to irregular weather, company...

Man turns himself in over fatal beating of 18-year-old girl.
May 31, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) YOKOHAMA -- A man wanted for fatally hitting an 18-year-old girl at a hotel here earlier this month was arrested Tuesday after turning himself in to police, investigators said. Kenji Waki, 33, whose address...

Ex-teacher fined for telling students' parents not to stand up for national.
May 31, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) anthem A former high school teacher was on Tuesday ordered to pay 200,000 yen in fines after he was indicted for obstructing a graduation ceremony after he asked participants not to stand up for the singing of...

Man arrested over Yahoo Japan auction fraud.
May 31, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) A Tokyo man was arrested on Tuesday for fraud he committed on Yahoo Japan's auction site after obtaining a member's password, police said. Fraudsters often ask people to write their private information by...

3 die, one found with stab wound, after Tokyo home gutted by fire.
May 31, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) Three people died, one of them found with a stab wound, after a Tokyo home was burned down in a blaze Tuesday morning, police said. Investigators suspect that they either died in a murder-suicide or they...

LDP politician wants war criminal 'spirits' removed from Yasukuni Shrine.
May 31, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) Senior Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) politician Makoto Koga on Tuesday asked a group of people who lost their relatives in World War II to think about removing the spirits of Class-A war criminals from...

2 men busted for using counterfeit 1,000-yen notes.
May 31, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) Two men arrested on Tuesday for using several counterfeit 1,000-yen notes in Tokyo have told investigators that they used some 300 fake bills in total, police said. The two 20-year-old men, whose names are...

Student faces charges for game site ID fraud.
May 31, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) A junior high school student from Nagoya has been reported to prosecutors for obtaining ID numbers of an online game site by pretending to be an official of the company that runs the site, police said. ...

Tell the world how you see summer in Japan.
May 31, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) Tell the world your views on summer in the Land of the Rising Sun. You can do so by sending in an entry to the MSN-Mainichi Daily News My Japan readers contest. The theme this week is "Summer in Japan."...

Japanese medallist holds kids' soccer lesson in Germany ahead of World Cup.
May 30, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) DUSSELDORF, Germany -- A soccer training session for children was held Sunday in Dusseldorf, home to the biggest Japanese town in Germany, as soccer fever grips the area ahead of the start of the 2006 World Cup....

Japan picks out strengths and weaknesses during first World Cup training match.
May 30, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) BONN, Germany -- Japan's soccer World Cup players on Sunday held their first internal match at their camp in Germany, with the starting squad winning the game 1-0. The game gave Japan a chance to review its...

Baby dies in car while parents play pachinko.
May 30, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) NAGOYA -- Police are questioning the parents of a 2-month-old baby boy who died after he was left in a car while they were playing pachinko. Company employee Masato Takeuchi, 24, and his 23-year-old wife...

Three teenagers face charges after hoax abduction call to police.
May 30, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) OSAKA -- Police plan to bring charges against three teenagers after they made a prank call saying that they were abducted. A 19-year-old decorator, an 18-year-old electrician and an 18-year-old high school...

Woman dies after jumping off platform.
May 30, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) YOKOHAMA -- A woman jumped off a platform at a railway station and was fatally hit by an incoming train on Monday, officials said. Officials said that the woman, who appeared to be in her 50s, apparently...

Parents arrested for leaving baby to die in car while playing pachinko.
May 30, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) NAGOYA -- The parents of a 2-month-old baby boy, who died after he was left in a car while his parents were playing slot machines in a pachinko parlor, were arrested on Monday for failing to carry out their...

Families of Japanese, South Korean abductees meet Abe, Aso in Tokyo.
May 30, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) A group of families of Japanese and South Korean abduction victims met Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe and Foreign Minister Taro Aso on Monday, calling for support in solving the issue of abductions...

Japanese painter Yoshihiko Wada accused of plagiarizing Italian works.
May 30, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) Award-winning Japanese painter Yoshihiko Wada has been accused of plagiarism after it was pointed out that several of his paintings bear an extreme resemblance to paintings produced by an Italian artist, it has...

Bronze statue ripped down in 2nd vandal attack at Yokohama Doll Museum.
May 30, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) YOKOHAMA -- A bronze statue at the Yokohama Doll Museum was ripped from its foundations and dumped on the ground on Monday, just months after another in the three-statue display was similarly damaged, police...

Hankyu to make tender offer for Hanshin Electric Railway shares.
May 30, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) OSAKA -- Hankyu Holdings Inc. will make a tender offer for Hanshin Electric Railway shares on Tuesday, the holding company of railway operator Hankyu Corp. said on Monday. Hankyu Holdings said it would...

Hairdresser gets 5 1/2 years in jail for burning down shop to get insurance.
May 30, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) payout OBIHIRO, Hokkaido -- A man convicted of setting fire to his hairdressing shop to swindle an insurance company out of 20 million yen was Monday sentenced to 5 1/2 years behind bars. In handing down...

Essayist Mari Yonehara dies at 56.
May 30, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) Famous essayist and leading member of Japan Pen Mari Yonehara died from ovarian cancer on May 25, it was learned on Monday. Her family has already held a funeral service for Yonehara, who died aged 56. ...

Japan's World Cup team leaves for Germany.
May 29, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) NARITA -- Japan's World Cup soccer team departed from Narita Airport on Friday, heading for Germany, where the World Cup starts on June 9, amid cheers from hundreds of supporters who turned up to see them off....

Schoolgirl who plunged to her death from condominium may have climbed over wall.
May 29, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) SENDAI -- An elementary school girl who died after plunging from a high-rise apartment complex here Tuesday may have climbed over a wall, police said. Several local residents reported having previously...

Nagano governor cancels meeting with villagers over threat to kill children.
May 29, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) NAGANO -- Nagano Gov. Yasuo Tanaka decided to call off his meeting with villagers in Nagano Prefecture scheduled for Saturday after receiving a message threatening to kill local children, prefectural...

Couple busted for dumping 11 dead dogs in park.
May 29, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) MIYAWAKA, Fukuoka -- A couple was arrested on Friday for dumping the bodies of 11 dead dogs at a park here, police said. Masakazu Ochi, 28, and his 36-year-old wife, Kaori, are accused of illegal disposal...

37-year-old woman found dead in her apartment in Sapporo.
May 29, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) SAPPORO -- A woman has been found dead in the bedroom of her apartment here, police said. An autopsy has found that the woman, 37-year-old Ikuko Arasawa, was strangled. Local police are searching for...

Traffic accident victim confirmed dead after officer fails to notice him under.
May 29, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) truck NIIGATA -- A police officer failed to notice an elderly man under a truck following an accident here and left the scene before a passerby found the victim four hours later, Niigata police said. The...

Ultrarightist sends mistaken protest letter to comedian Hikari Ota.
May 29, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) A senior member of a right-wing group sent a protest letter to the agency of Hikari Ota, of the popular comedy duo Bakusho Mondai, demanding answers for anti-Japanese comments he mistakenly thought Ota made, it...

Sudden engine failure, landing error caused deadly helicopter crash.
May 29, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) SHIZUOKA -- An accident in which a police helicopter crashed in a residential area of Shizuoka's Shimizu-ku last May, killing five police officers, occurred after engines on the left and right sides of the...

Hit-and-run truck driver hid in mountain hole for 3 days.
May 29, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) KARATSU, Saga -- A man suspected of injuring an 11-year-old boy in a hit-and-run accident, and then abducting and dumping the victim, told police he hid in a hole in the mountains for three days as law enforcers...

Asbestos sufferers, relatives of victims file suit over state's responsibility.
May 29, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) OSAKA -- Five asbestos sufferers and three relatives of those who have died filed a damages lawsuit on Friday against the national government in a bid to clarify the state's responsibility for their health...

Umbrellas out in Kyushu as annual rainy season begins.
May 29, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) The annual rainy season has started in southern Kyushu, the Meteorological Agency said on Friday. The start of the annual long spell of rainy weather in southern Kyushu is three days earlier than normal,...

Murder victim's boyfriend found in forest after apparent suicide.
May 29, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) SAPPORO -- A man believed to be the missing boyfriend of a woman who was strangled in her bedroom was found dead in a forest here Friday, police said. Investigators are trying to confirm his identity,...

Ex-Livedoor executive Miyauchi pleads guilty to spreading false info on.
May 29, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) affiliate Former Livedoor Co. board member Ryoji Miyauchi pleaded guilty Friday to spreading false information on an affiliate in a bid to jack up its share prices and window-dressing the Livedoor group's...

1.3 million yen in cash, coupons stolen from office of singer Kazuo Zaitsu.
May 29, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) Singer and song-writer Kazuo Zaitsu had cash and commodity coupons worth some 1.3 million yen stolen from a safe at his office in downtown Tokyo, police said. An employee came to the Zaitsu office in...

Kimono counselor, gothic Lolitas and a saucy 'juicy' how you see Japanese.
May 29, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) fashion A woman applying the Japanese national costume, a pair of girls in gothic garments, and an example of the occasionally bizarre use of English in this country are the My Japan readers' contest winners...

Three children die in apartment blaze.
May 29, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) IZUMI, Osaka -- Two young brothers and their sister died in a fire that burned their apartment here while their parents were away, police said. At around 4:50 p.m. on Friday, a fire broke out at the...

Government witholds Tomakomai mayor's 14.5 million yen retirement allowance.
May 29, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) TOMAKOMAI, Hokkaido -- The municipal government here will withhold payment of a retirement allowance to the mayor, who is set to step down to take responsibility for molesting a restaurant owner, a top city...

Police identify apparent suicide found in forest as strangled woman's boyfriend.
May 29, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) SAPPORO -- A man found hanging in a mountain forest here Friday has been identified as the missing live-in boyfriend of a woman who was strangled at her home, police said. Hokkaido Prefectural Police...

Comatose hit-and-run victim calls out for mom.
May 29, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) KARATSU, Saga -- An 11-year-old boy who was left unconscious after being hit by a truck and then dumped in a mountain area in Saga called out for his mother for the first time in a hospital here, police said....

2 die and another seriously injured after crashing into bridge.
May 29, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) KATORI, Chiba -- Two people died and another was seriously injured after a car they were riding in careered into a slope along an expressway and crashed into a bridge pier early Saturday, police said. At...

Elderly couple donates 100 million yen to protect Japan's southern islands.
May 29, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) An elderly couple has donated 100 million yen to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to go toward the development of Okinotori Islands on the southern tip of Japan. The money was donated by 81-year-old Tokyo...

Research group develops mini humanoid robot than can sit up, stand on one leg.
May 29, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) A miniature humanoid robot that can stand up from a lying-down position and smoothly stand on one leg has been developed by an independent administrative organization in Japan and four venture companies. ...

Scissor-wielding cyclist attacks schoolgirl in ride-by snipping.
May 29, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) A man riding a bicycle on a Tokyo street attacked an elementary school student by suddenly cutting the girl's hair with a pair of scissors before speeding off, police said. Local police are searching for...

Nonprofit foundation head under arrest for embezzlement hit with further.
May 29, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) charges OSAKA -- The head of a nonprofit foundation, arrested earlier this month for embezzling 10 million yen from the organization, was hit with a fresh arrest warrant for pocketing further 40 million yen,...

AUM splinter group likely to depart from cult in July.
May 29, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) A group in the AUM Shinrikyo cult supported by senior member Fumihiro Joyu will likely splinter from the organization in July, sources close the cult said. The new group will cut itself off from the cult's...

Elderly woman dies after being hit by 70-year-old van driver.
May 29, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) SAPPORO -- An elderly woman was fatally hit by a van driven by an old man Friday night while she was crossing a street here, police said. At around 8:35 p.m. on Friday, a van driven by Sueo Murase, 70, a...

Man wielding scissors attacks schoolgirl in Aichi.
May 29, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) KASUGAI, Aichi -- A man attacked a 14-year-old schoolgirl with a pair of scissors as she passed him on her way to school on Saturday, slicing through her uniform, law enforcers said. The 14-year-old girl...

Reversing roles: An embarrassing new experience.
May 29, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) I'd worn my suit to the clinic on my way to work. I'd stripped off the suit and was getting changed into a green robe with a large hole around my bottom. "OK Dr. Kitamura, strip from the waist down and put...

Letting the katsuo out of the bag for a taste of early summer.
May 29, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) Hooray! It's hatsu-gatsuo time! I regard myself as a bigger katsuo-lover than anyone else, so I can't think about eating any other kind of fish during this two-month-long katsuo season. Even for breakfast,...

Craftsman turns to bells to scare off bears.
May 29, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) MORIOKA -- A harness maker is busy manufacturing sets of "bells" designed to ward off bears during the wild plant picking season in the mountains. The Shiogama harness maker's bells produce a high and a low...

Fox and cubs living Saitama forest become popular with local residents.
May 29, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) SAITAMA -- A wild fox and her cubs that inhabit a forest here have become popular with local residents. No other wild foxes have been found in the area and it is quite rare for a wild fox to appear near...

Corn puts drivers in environmentally friendly seats.
May 29, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) Drivers may soon be sitting in seats made out of corn and other plant-based material, as Japanese automakers begin to rev up production of durable and environmentally friendly materials that can be used in...

Hit-and-run truck driver arrested.
May 26, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) KARATSU, Saga -- A 53-year-old man wanted for a hit-and-run involving a 11-year-boy has been arrested after investigators found him late Wednesday, police said. Police arrested Sanoji Sakaguchi after the...

Drunk woman rescued by Korean student after falling onto tracks.
May 26, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) A Korean student rescued a woman after she fell off a platform at JR Shinokubo Station in Tokyo, the same station where another Korean student was fatally hit by a train when he tried to save a man on the...

Technician busted for doing dentist's work without license.
May 26, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) SAITAMA -- A dental technician was arrested on Thursday for treating the teeth of patients at a dental clinic he operates even though he has no dentist's license, police said. Tadakatsu Yamada, 62,...

Girl uses cell phone to photograph teenage boy who tried to abduct friend.
May 26, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) NIRASAKI, Yamanashi -- A 16-year-boy has been arrested for attempting to abduct a 6-year-old girl after her friend photographed him fleeing on his motorbike, helping police to identify him. The boy, a...

Police officers to get longer nightsticks.
May 26, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) Police officers will be issued longer nightsticks in November in the face of a sharp increase in the number of cases in which criminals attack officers and obstruct them from carrying out their duty, the...

Man nabbed for not paying restaurant bill after ordering 15 items.
May 26, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) NARA -- A man was arrested on Thursday for not paying his restaurant bill after he ordered 15 items over a 13-hour period, police said. Shinichi Kochi, 28, visited a restaurant in Yamatokoriyama, Nara...

Japanese court rejects S. Korean suit over Yasukuni shrine.
May 26, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) The Tokyo District Court on Thursday dismissed a suit filed by the bereaved families of South Koreans conscripted by the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II, demanding that the government revoke the...

Koizumi may fly with Bush on Air Force One.
May 26, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) Japanese and U.S. officials are discussing the possibility that Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will fly on Air Force One with President George Bush when they leave Washington for Tennessee in June, sources...

President of Honda affiliate acquitted of tax evasion.
May 26, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) SAITAMA -- The president of an engine manufacturing subsidiary of Honda Motor Co. was acquitted Thursday of conspiring with a former auditor at his company to evade about 1 billion yen in corporate tax. The...

Only 1 in 3 people aware analogue TV broadcasts will discontinue in 2011.
May 26, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) Only one in three people know that analogue television broadcasting will discontinue in July 2011, according to a survey conducted by the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry. Analogue television...

Nara schoolgirl killer tells court he wants to die.
May 26, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) NARA -- A former newspaper deliveryman under indictment for murdering a schoolgirl told a court hearing on Thursday that he wants to die. Kaoru Kobayashi, 37, is standing trial at the Nara District Court....

Skater Arakawa to make acting debut.
May 26, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) Shizuka Arakawa, Japan's gold medallist in figure skating at the Turin Olympics, will make her debut as an actress by playing a prosecutor in a TV drama set to be aired on June 1. In the drama titled...

Jobless man busted for abducting 10-year-old girl in Osaka Prefecture.
May 26, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) SAKAI, Osaka -- A jobless man has been arrested for abducting a 10-year-old girl and confining her in an uninhabited apartment here in early March, police said Thursday. Yukinori Maeba, 52, a resident of...

Hoshino will resign as Tigers' director if Murakami controls Hanshin.
May 25, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) Senichi Hoshino, who led the Hanshin Tigers to win the Central League pennant in 2003 as its manager, said Wednesday he will resign as senior director of the professional baseball club if its parent company is...

7 construction officials busted for bid-rigging.
May 25, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) OSAKA -- Seven officials of seven plant construction companies have been arrested for fixing contract bids for the construction of public sewage facilities in central and western Japan, prosecutors said. ...

Jobless man, girlfriend busted for drowning roommate.
May 25, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) OSAKA -- A jobless man and his girlfriend have been arrested for drowning his roommate last autumn, police said. Hayato Utsu, 22, and his girlfriend, 32-year-old Soru Fukami, are accused of murdering Sho...

Universal Studios Japan to raise entrance fees.
May 25, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) OSAKA -- Admission fees for Universal Studios Japan (USJ) here will be raised on July 20, the operator of the theme park said. The admission fee for adults will be raised from the current 5,500 yen to 5,800...

Doctor busted for fondling patient after telling her she might have VD.
May 25, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) YOKOHAMA -- A doctor was arrested Wednesday for fondling the private parts of a woman at his clinic about a year ago after telling her that she might be suffering a venereal disease, police said. Local...

Father of murdered Kobe schoolboy shows disappointment in worsening society.
May 25, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) KOBE -- The father of an 11-year-old boy who was brutally murdered in Kobe in 1997 by a then 14-year-old schoolboy has expressed disappointment over the increase of hard-hearted people in society, in a message...

Sex shop owner busted for hiring teens as prostitutes.
May 25, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) KAWASAKI -- A sex shop owner who is suspected of hiring more than 10 girls aged under 18 to work as prostitutes has been arrested for violating the anti-child prostitution and pornography law, police said...

Police search for clues in Sendai schoolgirl's fatal fall from apartment block.
May 25, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) SENDAI -- Police have launched a detailed investigation into the death of a young schoolgirl who fatally plunged from an apartment block here, considering the possibilities that the 9-year-old either fell or...

Sompo Japan president set to resign over illegal business practices.
May 25, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) The president of Sompo Japan Insurance Inc. is set to step down over a scandal in which the major insurer faces a government order to suspend part of its business activities as punishment for a series of...

LDP lawmaker Taizo Sugimura apologizes for plagiarism on Internet blog.
May 25, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) Liberal Democratic Party Lower House member Taizo Sugimura has apologized for plagiarizing the work of a preparatory school teacher on his Internet blog, and deleted the passage, it has been learned. ...

Customers asked to receive deliveries near trucks to beat parking crackdown.
May 25, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) The trucking industry has asked customers to receive deliveries near trucks as law enforcers are poised to step up their crackdown on parking violators. The Japan Trucking Association has printed 1 million...

Hokkaido 'Doraemon' train to make final run in summer.
May 25, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) SAPPORO -- A Hokkaido-based train featuring the popular anime character Doraemon will make its final run this summer, taking passengers to a station nearly 150 meters below sea level. The train will start...

TBS announcer marries ex-tennis player.
May 24, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) TBS announcer Ikumi Kimura has married a former tennis player, she has announced. Kimura, 33, began dating with Shuichi Sugisawa, 38, now president of a sports management company, in January this year. They...

Construction worker on hit-and-run wanted list.
May 24, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) KARATSU, Saga -- A 53-year-old construction worker has been put on the wanted list for a hit-and-run incident last week in which a 11-year-old boy was seriously injured, police said on Tuesday. Sanoji...